Archives for December 2007

As 2007 comes to a close, I thought it would be fun to look back at some of the most popular blog posts and products of 2007. Here are three top ten lists each ordered from highest to lowest.Top Ten Blog Posts(Most Viewed)

A big thanks to all of our customers for a fabulous 2007! We’re looking forward to an even better 2008. As you’ll find out in a future blog post, our Electronic Text Development department is growing, and we’re planning to produce even more great products this next year. Stay tuned!Christmas Specials
Just a reminder not to miss out on our great Christmas specials!

A few years ago Bob came up with the idea to create a small utility to facilitate typing in ancient scripts, and the first version of Shibboleth was born.

We have been using this tool internally for a couple of years, but have recently updated it to take advantage of some of the new technologies made available with Microsoft’s .NET Framework 3.0.

We’ve found Shibboleth to be such a handy tool that we wanted to share it with you. Best of all, we’ve decided to make it free for personal use!
Here are three reasons you might want to use Shibboleth.

Shibboleth makes typing in a script you don’t know well very easy. It’s perfect for those who are still learning to type in Greek and Hebrew; it’s also great for those who can skillfully type in the biblical languages, but occasionally need to type in a non-biblical ancient script like Ugaritic or Coptic.

Shibboleth makes typing obscure characters easy. Even if you’re proficient at typing in Greek and Hebrew, you probably don’t have characters like the Greek digamma (ϝ) or the Hebrew inverted nun (׆) memorized. With Shibboleth that’s no longer a problem. No more hunting for all those keyboard layouts in PDF files somewhere. Shibboleth provides a single location to look up all those obscure ancient script characters!

Shibboleth is also an ideal tool for learning to type proficiently in an ancient script. By practicing for a while in Shibboleth, Greek and Hebrew students will become skilled at typing in no time. The transition from using Shibboleth to typing directly in Greek or Hebrew in other Windows applications like Word is easy since Shibboleth uses the same keyboard layouts as our free Windows keyboards. So once you have a feel for where all the characters are in Shibboleth, making the switch is seamless.

Shibboleth works with both Vista and XP. However, if you’re running XP, you’ll need to download the free .NET Framework 3.0 from Microsoft if you don’t already have it. (We provide the link for you on the Shibboleth page.)
A note about browsers: Shibboleth is a ClickOnce application. You will probably want to use Internet Explorer 7 to install it. To install Shibboleth from Firefox, you will need to use the FFClickOnce add-on or the IE Tab add-on.
Visit https://www.logos.com/shibboleth to find out more and install the application. Enjoy!

Last Chance for the EARLYBIRD Discount!

Thousands of you have already upgraded and are taking advantage of all that Logos Bible Software 3 has to offer, but many of you are still missing out! This is a call to upgrade before we finally end our “EARLYBIRD” discount permanently. We’ve extended this special for a long time now because we wanted to give everyone the chance to upgrade at a discounted rate, but we plan to discontinue it for good on December 31, 2007. Don’t miss out on this final chance to upgrade with the “EARLYBIRD” discount and get all the added value in our new base packages!

Updating vs. Upgrading: What’s the Difference?

Some customers get confused between updating and upgrading. As a result, many are missing out on most of what Logos Bible Software 3 has to offer! Let me explain the difference.

Updating

Updating deals with the core Libronix software engine and is free. When you update, you get the latest version of the Libronix Digital Library System and the most up-to-date version of your digital books. You can easily update from within Libronix by clicking on Tools > Libronix Update or from the update page on the website. Run the Libronix Update as often as you want, but we recommend checking for new updates at least once a month. If you haven’t updated your software in a while, do it now and see what you’ve been missing out on!

However, if you only update and don’t upgrade, you’re missing out on most of the new features of Logos Bible Software 3!

Upgrading

Upgrading deals with the base packages and is not free. When you upgrade, you get tons of new books and tools that will allow you to take full advantage of Logos Bible Software 3. You are not repurchasing what you already own. You are paying a customized upgrade discount price for the new books and addins that you don’t already have. Our customized upgrade discounter gives you upgrade prices for the various base packages taking into consideration what base package you already own and even some of the other titles that you may have purchased. Visit https://www.logos.com/upgrade to find out what your upgrade options are!

Is It Worth It?

Our base packages are among our most heavily discounted collections. You get thousands of dollars worth of resources for just a fraction of the cost. They are an amazing value. If you don’t want to take our word for it, check it out for yourself. In order to make an informed decision, you’ll want to see (1) what you are going to get and (2) what it is going to cost you.

What Will You Get, and What Will It Cost?

Visit the product page for the collection you already have and look for the to find out what has been added to that base package.

You’ll see that the resources make even upgrading from the old version to the new version of the same base package a tremendous deal. For example, if you own only the Bible Study Library, you can upgrade for as little as $34.66! You should at least upgrade to the new version of the base package you own. But most of you should probably consider making the jump up to one of the higher base packages where you get an even better deal!
After you’ve seen all the items that were added to your base package, check the comparison chart to see all the additional resources that the larger collections add! The best value is Scholar’s Library: Gold. It’s not for everyone, but it may be for you.

Greek Syntax: First Thessalonians 4:16, Part II (with video). This post shows how to just search for adverbial instances, and those in relation to where the verb (predicator) stands in the clause. So, does the prepositional phrase come before or after the verb? Or is there even a verb in the clause?

Today’s post, the last in the series, is a follow-up to Part II. We’ll further explore how to search for εν Χριστω in relation to the verb (predicator) that it co-occurs with; only today we’ll search for this with both adverbial (as in Part II) and adjectival instances. For those of you who can’t wait, here’s a link to the video:

This instance is somewhat ambiguous (indeed, that’s the reason why the JBL article was written); there are equally good reasons for the prepositional phrase to modify the subject or the verb. OpenText.org SAGNT annotates this as an adjectival relation, further modifying the subject. In order to examine like cases, we need to find where the prepositional phrase itself (whether the OpenText.org SAGNT annotates it adjectivally or adverbially) occurs preceding the predicator. Our earlier search in Part II only located OpenText.org’s adverbial instances.
So today’s video starts there and then shows how to search for where OpenText.org’s adjectival instances precede the predicator. The combination of those two lists provides the whole set of instances where the prepositional phrase precedes the predicator.

Once the lists are available, the analysis can proceed. Examine not only the verbs, but also the other clausal components that are similar to 1Th 4.16. Which of these instances, like 1Th 4.16, appear to be genuinely ambiguous as to where the prepositional phrase can attach? And can those instances help in establishing reasons to prefer either adjectival or adverbial modification in 1Th 4.16?
Lastly, after surveying the material, you may want to do a reference search of your Greek grammars to see if any of them discuss the issue of how the prepositional phrase functions in 1Th 4.16; you may also want to check some of your commentaries (like NIGTC on Thessalonians, perhaps; or the WBC or ICC volumes if you’ve got ’em) to see what they say.

Today’s guest blogger is Dr. Michael Heiser, Academic Editor at Logos.
Logos recently announced the creation of the Lexham Greek-English Interlinear Septuagint on the Pre-Pub page. Many pastors, seminary students, and lay people devoted to Bible study might wonder about the value of the Septuagint for Bible study. The Septuagint, of course, is the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament. The Septuagint was the Old Testament of the early Greek-speaking church, and it is by far the version of the Old Testament most frequently quoted by Jesus and the apostles in the New Testament. Rather than try to persuade you of the value of the Septuagint by means of these kinds of arguments, I thought it might be helpful to provide a practical example where the Septuagint explains what seems to be a New Testament theological blunder. I’m betting most of us are interested in that sort of thing!
Below is Deuteronomy 33:1-2 side-by-side in two translations. On the left is my literal rendering of the traditional Hebrew text of the Old Testament, the Masoretic text. On the right is an English translation of the Septuagint at this passage. I have boldfaced significant differences for some discussion.

Traditional Masoretic Hebrew Text

Septuagint

﻿1 This is the blessing with which Moses, the man of God, blessed the Israelites before his death.2﻿ He said: Yahweh came from Sinai, and He shone upon them from Seir. He appeared in radiance from Mount Paran, and approached from Ribeboth-Kodesh, from his right lightning flashed at them.3 Indeed, he loved the people, all his holy ones at your hand. And they followed at your feet; he bears your words,4 the law which Moses commanded us, an inheritance for the assembly of Jacob.

1 This is the blessing with which Moses, the man of God, blessed the Israelites before his death.2﻿ He said: The LORD came from Sinai, and He shone to us from Seir; He made haste from Mount Paran with ten thousands of Kadesh, his angels with him.3 And He had pity on his people, and all the holy ones were under your hands; and they were under you; and he received his words,4 the law which Moses charged us, an inheritance to the assemblies of Jacob.

What Are We Looking At?
Some English translations (ESV, NIV, NASB) are close to the Septuagint or sound like a mixture of the two choices. As the traditional Hebrew text goes, the Hebrew phrase in verse 2 underlying “Ribeboth-Kodesh” is the same (except for spelling) as what occurs at Deut. 32:51 (“Meribath Kadesh”). This is why most scholars today consider the phrase to be a geographical place name, and I agree. The Septuagint, however, obviously has something else going on! While it is possible to get “ten thousands of Kadesh” from the Hebrew consonants of the traditional Masoretic text, the very common Hebrew word for angels (mal’akim) does not appear in the traditional Masoretic text. The Septuagint translation (aggeloi) came from a different Hebrew text.
One more observation: In verse 3 the Masoretic Text seems to equate “the people” with “all his holy ones.” Yahweh’s people, his holy people, are under his authority (“under your hand”). They follow at the LORD’s feet and receive the Law. Note that the singular pronoun “he” in “he bears your words” likely refers to Israel collectively (i.e., ISRAEL bears your words). Israel is often referred to as a singular entity in the Bible (“my son,” Exod. 4:21-23; “my servant,” Isa. 44:1). The Septuagint, however, gives the reader the feel that “his people” and “all the holy ones” are different groups. In the Septuagint, God pities his people and his holy ones–the angels referred to in the previous verse–are under his authority. Israel, of course, receives the law.So What?
So who cares? Well, the Septuagint here helps us understand an oddity mentioned in several places in the New Testament-the idea that the Mosaic Law, given at Sinai, was actually given by angels. Check out these New Testament passages:

Acts 7:52-5352 Which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, 53 you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it.”Hebrews 2:1-2a1 Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. 2 For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, 3 how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?Galatians 3:1919 Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary.

Simply put, if you stick to the traditional Masoretic Hebrew text for your Old Testament, there is no place that the New Testament writers could have drawn such an idea. The closest you come to that is in Psalm 68:17. While that verse has a multitude of angelic beings at Sinai, it says zilch about the Law.
The point is that the New Testament references have provided fodder for biblical critics who want the New Testament to be guilty of either an outright error in thought, or just contriving a doctrinal point out of thin air. The Septuagint shows us that those perspectives are just simply incorrect. The New Testament writers weren’t nitwits or dishonest. They were using the Septuagint.

Randall Tan and David A. deSilva are the editors for the Lexham Greek-English Interlinear Septuagint. Twenty-seven other scholars are contributors to the project. W. Hall Harris III serves as General Editor and Translator for the Lexham Greek-English Interlinear New Testament.

Why More Interlinears?

Perhaps you’re wondering what makes these new products special, and why you should consider buying them.

The LXX Interlinear

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first ever Greek-English interlinear of the LXX available for any Bible software platform. That alone makes it pretty special! It’s difficult even to find an LXX interlinear in print! You’ll also be getting a fresh morphological analysis of the entire LXX text.

The NT Interlinear

With regard to the NT, we have added direct links for every Greek word to Louw and Nida’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament Based on Semantic Domains. These links are disambiguated and context-sensitive and connect you directly to the appropriate Louw and Nida article for the word you are examining. (Where multiple interpretations are possible, you are given all relevant articles.) This tagging will allow you to search the interlinear by domains, articles, and ranges.

Both Interlinears

Here are the primary features that make both of these Greek-English interlinears special:

Two Levels of Glossing: Each Greek word has a simple, context-free gloss (i.e., the "Lexical value," what you’d see in a lexicon) and a context-sensitive gloss (or "English Literal Translation").

Idiom Level: Where the literal translation doesn’t convey the force of a passage, the interlinears provide an additional idiomatic translation.

Notes: There are four different kinds of notes: (1) lexical, (2) text-critical, (3) literary/rhetorical, and (4) LXX compared to the Hebrew (LXX interlinear only).

Word Order Number: They also include English word order numbering where it is not clear.

As you can see, both of these interlinears will make great tools to aid you in your study of the Greek of both the Old and New Testaments. Visit the product pages to read more, see screenshots, and place your pre-order.

I’ve blogged a few times about 1Th 4.16 and the prepositional phrase εν Χριστω (see here and here).

But there’s more to talk about.
One thing that could be handy is searching for when the prepositional object (Χριστω) is articular, and when it is anarthrous. Our initial search for the prepositional phrase found both articular and anarthrous instances.
But in tracking how εν Χριστω functions, it may be necessary to consider articular and anarthrous instances separately. With syntax searching, you can do this. I’ve created a video that starts with the basic search for the prepositional phrase and adjusts it to first locate articular instances (so, εν τω Χριστω) and then to locate anarthrous instances (εν Χριστω) .

At our annual Christmas party this past Saturday, we officially launched a brand new video about Logos—not a demo of the product, but an inside look at the company, the people, the vision. In our continued effort to let you get to know us, we wanted to give you a chance to be some of the first people outside of the company to watch it. You’ll learn interesting tidbits about the company, meet many of the department heads and others, find out the verdict on the proper pronunciation of Logos, and get the inside scoop on the next major release of the software. We hope you enjoy it!
(If you are viewing this in a feed reader or email and the video doesn’t appear below, visit the site to watch it.)

We are pleased to announce that Coral Ridge Ministries, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, has joined with us in a brand new, strategic partnership to equip the church for better Bible study and ministry. Truths That Transform, the foundational work on practical Christian truths by the late Dr. D. James Kennedy, serves as the centerpiece of several new Truths that Transform Bible software products.Truths That Transform Digital Learning Series 1 combines the Truths That Transform book, which covers eighteen transformational truths, with several other resources:

These collections bring together the some of the best insights from the fruitful ministry of Dr. D. James Kennedy and the power and breadth of Logos Bible Software. Take the tour to see it for yourself, and watch Brian Fisher, President and CEO of Coral Ridge Ministries, talk about these great new products.Live on GodTube!
Finally, don’t miss the LIVE Internet-Only Broadcast on Monday, December 17, at 8 pm EST on GodTube.com. Brian Fisher will be talking with Scott Lindsey from Logos Bible Software about the exciting new ways to study the Bible using the revolutionary new Truths That Transform Digital Library System. Be sure to watch! Find out more.